1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method of water conservation. More specifically, the present invention pertains to a method of increasing the efficiency of residential and commercial irrigation systems.
2. History of Related Art
In an article titled “Global Water Shortage Looms in New Century,” published in the Arizona Water Resource, Volume 8, Number 3, it is reported that 80 countries throughout the world are experiencing water shortages. It is also reported that 40% of the world's population does not have access to clean water. Not only does the available water supply appear to be diminishing, but the world's population is increasing. Various attempts to address this problem include desalinization and water conservation. In response to the increasing need to conserve water, some cities have already enacted ordinances that place restrictions on how and when irrigation can be performed. For instance, the Texas legislature has recently passed three bills placing mandates on municipalities with at least a population of 20,000 to adopt an ordinance that requires an installer of an irrigation system to hold a license and acquire a permit for the irrigation system. The municipalities are required to enforce rules set by Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) relating to irrigation.
Given the above, water conservation is of great interest. Reducing the amount of wasted water is one of the first steps to ameliorate this problem. Many devices and methods attempt to address the issue of water conservation. One area of particular focus pertains to automated irrigation systems. U.S. Pat. No. 7,058,478 ('478) discloses a device and method for water conservation and management. The '478 patent discloses simple parameters such as the time of year, local temperature, and geographic location to calculate and adjust an irrigation schedule on a daily or other periodic basis. The method of the '478 patent is centered around the idea that the amount of water required to irrigate landscaping or crops is based upon the temperature and time of year. More specifically, higher temperatures typically require the use of more water and lower temperatures typically require the use of less water. Furthermore, little or no water is typically required during the winter months. Also disclosed is an irrigation controller that allows a user to input the necessary information, namely the time of year, local temperature, and geographic location, from which the controller determines how much irrigation is needed.
Another device that addresses the issue of water management is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,403 ('403). The '403 patent discloses electro-mechanical means for determining the moisture content of the soil for manual watering and for controlling lawn sprinkler systems. The electro-mechanical means controls irrigation either by interacting with an irrigation system or indirectly by signaling a user that irrigation is necessary. The device determines soil moisture content through the use of probe that is placed into the ground. If the moisture content is too low, the irrigation system is automatically started or signals the user that irrigation is needed.